Valentin saueebeey



V. SAUERBREY.; Breach-Loading Pire-Arm.

Patented Mar. 9, 1880.

i f, .H//

IPRS. PHOTO-LITMRAPHER. WASHINGTON, Dv-C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VALENTIN SAUERBREY, OF BASLE, SWITZERLAND.

BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 225,423, dated March 9, 1880.

Application filed November' 13, 1879. Patented in Belgium December 4, 1877, in France December 5, 1877, in England Deceniber14, 1877, and in Germany December 22, 1877.

10 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VALENTIN SAUEREEEY, of Basle, in the Republic of Switzerland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Breech-Loadin g Fire-Arms, for which I have obtained a brevet in the Kingdom of Belgium7 dated December 4, 1877, a brevet in the `Republic of France, dated December 5, 1877, a patent in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, dated December 14, 1877, anda patent in the Empire of Germany, dated December 22, 1877; and I do hereby declare that the following' is a description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming partof this specification.

This invention relates to that class of breechloading firearms in which the breech-block has a sliding movement upward and downward.

The invention consists in a novel construction of firing mechanism, which will be hereinafter particularly described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of a breech system illustrating the application of my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the same, taken in the line x, looking backward. Fig. 8 is a horizontal section of the same in line with the center of the barrel. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the hammer.

A B indicate the two pieces of which the breech-receiver is almost entirely composed.

The piece A, which constitutes the bottom, consists of a simple curved plate or shield conforming to the under side of t-he stock, as shown in Fig. l, and having a large protuber ance or boss on the righthand side, as shown at A in Fig. 3. This boss is also shown in Fig. 2, but owing to that ligure being viewed from the front the cheek-plate appears on the right side of the figure, though on the left side of the gun.

The piece B, which is of box-like form and constitutes the front, back, and side walls, tits over the sides ofthe piece A, and the two are held together `by a screw passing through their rear portions and a screw which passes through the front part of A and into a lump on the lower part of the barrel. Y

A third piece,'G, Fig. 2, consisting of a simple cheek-plate, completes the breech-receiver. This cheek-plate C is arranged opposite to the boss A, to contain the bearin g for one end of the pivot b of the breech-operatin g lever and hammer, as shown in Fig. 2. Its position is indicated in Fig. 1, where the letters a a indicate a recess cut in the edge of A for its reception, the cheek-plate itself being omitted from the latter iigure to expose the breech-operating and cocking mechanism to view.

The interior of the receiver has its sides parallel with each other and with the barrel. Its front is perpendicular to the barrel, and its back, which constitutes the recoil-bearing, has a slight backward and downward slope, the inclination of which corresponds with that of two guide-grooves, c' c', which are provided in each side to receive corresponding obliquely-arranged guide-projections c c on the sides of the breech-block D.

The breech-block D is parallel sided, and of a width to lit loosely between the side walls of the breech-receiver. Its front is perpendicular or square with the bore of the barrel, and its rear end is made oblique, to correspond with the guides ce and with the recoil-bearin g in the receiver. It is bored and hollowed ont to receive the tiring-pin E and permit the working within it of the head of the hammer G, and it is provided with an oblique slot, e, extending entirely across it from side'to side, to receive the T-shaped head of the arm F of the breech-operating lever.

The breech-operating lever is composed ot' the pivot or fulcrum pin b, hereinbefore mentioned, carrying the T-headed arm F, (shown in Figs. l and 2,) and the handle H, which is arranged, as shown in Fig. 3, on the righthand side of the gun.

The pin or pivot b is supported at one end in a bearing in the cheekplate C, and it passes through and has the greater portion of its length fitted (as shown in Fig.2) to turn in the sleeve-like hollow journal g of the hammer G, which journal works in a bearing bored through the boss or protuberant part A of the shield A.

The form ofthe hammer and its hollow j ournal g is best shown in the perspective View,

IOC

Fig. 4. It is hollowed out on one side, as shown at g in that ligure, to make room for the arm F of the breech-operating lever.

The tumbler Gr', containing the cock-notch g2, is made in the same piece with it, and a forward extension, g3, forming a continuation of the tumbler, provides for the connection of the mainspring I by a stirrup-connection, t', as shown in Fig. 1.

On the end of the hollow journal g, which projects beyond the outside of the prot-uberance or boss A, there is firmly secured a trigger, J, which comes just inside of the handle H of the breech-operating lever, so that both can be taken hold of together by the right hand in manipulating-the gun.

The mainspring I is attached to the shield A, and so are the sear K, the sear-spring L, and the firing-trigger M, all of which parts are shown in Fig. l. The mainspring is attached by a screw, i. The sear is attached by its pivotk, which is screwed into a small upward projection, la', (see Fig. 1,) on one side of the shield A, and enters into the cheek-plate C. The'trigger M is attached by its pivot mpassing through two lugs, m', on the interior of the shield A. The Sear-spring L is attached by a screw, l, which also serves to secure the trigger-guard N. The cartridge-shell eXtractorP is also attached to the shield A, the attachment being made by the pin p, which is supported partly in a lug, p', on the said plate, and partly in the cheek-plate C. The said eX- tractor is in the form of an elbow-lever, which is forked to take hold of the flange of the cartridge-shell at two points, and the tail 192 of which projects backward under the breechblock, so that the operation of the extractor to extract the cartridge-shell from the barrel is produced by the striking of the breechblock upon its tail as the said block is about completing its opening movement.

It may be understood from the foregoing description that all of the working parts, consisting of the breech-block-operat-in g lever, the hammer, the mainspring, the sear, the searspring', the firing-trigger, and the extractor, are all attached to the shield or bottom plate, A, of the breech-receiver, and have no connection with the side walls or other parts of the receiver comprised in the piece B, and hence when the two screws which connect the back and front ends of the said plate A with the stock and barrel and with the piece B are removed the plate A may drop out or be removed downwardly from the piece B and from the stock and barrel with all of the said attached workin gparts. The breech-block, though having no positive attachment to its operating-lever, and fitting quite loosely within the part B,

will also come out with the said plate A and attached working parts. The working parts are then all easily accessible and removable for cleaning or repair.

The manipul ations for loading and iiring are as follows: By the depression of the handle H the T-headed arm F of the breech-operating lever is caused to move along the oblique slot e in the breech-block, and so draw down the latter far enough to allow the cartridge to pass over it into the barrel. This movement of the breech-operating lever also brings the back of its arm F against the back of the recess g in the contiguous side of the hammer, and so causes the hammer to move back until cocked by the scar dropping into the notch g2. After the cartridge has been inserted into the barrel the breech-block is raised to close the breech by raising the handle H, leaving the hammer cocked and ready to operate on the iiring-pin on the trigger M being pulled. 1f, however, it should be desired to uncock the gun after loading, that may be done without disturbing the breech-block by simply pressing the thumb of the left hand against the back of the trigger J and pulling the trigger M with the foreiinger ofthe right hand, keeping the pressure against the back of the trigger J while the hammer comes gently forward.

When yit is afterward desired to recock the gun without again opening the breech the trigger J is pushed forward until the sear enters again into the cock-notch g2.

In order to prevent the lever H from being depressed accidentally after the breech has been closed, and from thereby opening, or partly opening, the breech, there should be a detent-notch on the side of the stock, as shown in dotted outline in Fig. 3, to receive a detent, r, on the handle H when the said handle has brought the breech up to the closing position. This detent is, however, in no way relied upon to hold the breech-block in place at the time of firing, for at that time the breech is intended to be free from its operating-lever, as shown in Fig. 1, and to be sustained entirely by the recoil-bearin g d.

I claim- The combination of the breech-operating lever H b F, the hammer G, having a sleeve or hollow journal fitted to the pivot or fulcrum pin b of said lever, and the trigger or handle J, attached to the said sleeve or hollow journal, substantially as an d for the purpose herein described. v

VALENTIN SAUERBREY.

Witnesses:

T. E. STRUSTTER, LoUIs MARX.

IOO

IOS

IIO 

